Opinion

Irish barrister Paul McGarry SC explores the opportunities for Irish lawyers following the UK's exit from the EU. The sabre-rattling by the UK government over the Northern Ireland Protocol has again brought the debate about the future arrangements between the EU and the UK into sharp focus. But no m

Linda Walker looks at the risks of mixing business and pleasure in the family home. COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown hasn’t been easy on anyone. Families and couples have been stuck in close quarters for long periods, leading to strained moments. For those of us lucky to continue work

Fiona Caldow and Gareth Hale consider a recent decision by the Supreme Court on restrictive covenants in restraint of trade. In Peninsula Securities Limited v Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Limited [2020] UKSC 36, the Supreme Court upheld the terms of a lease, finding that a restrictive

Alison Bryce considers the uncertainty for the Scottish food and drink industry in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Over the last 47 years, the UK’s laws, regulations and processes have become inextricably linked with the European Union. There are a number of factors to consider in the inevitabl

Benjamin Bestgen takes an honest look at marriage in his latest jurisprudential primer. See last week's here. During my legal studies, a professor opined that one of the most legally significant things the majority of people will ever do in their lives is to marry and divorce (the other th

Neilsons looks at the release of pent up demand for property in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Back in April, we reported that the local property market effectively entered a necessary “sleep mode” to protect the NHS with the pandemic at its peak. We argued against other commentators about

Sarah Stewart considers the Scottish government's Heat Networks Bill and its impact on the housing and heating industries.District heating, also known as a heat network, is a distribution system of insulated pipes that takes heat from a central source and delivers it to a number of domestic or

The effect of the Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Act 2017, and whether a claim for historic abuse in Scotland should be allowed to proceed in the English courts, was considered by the High Court in its recent judgment, JXJ v The Province of Great Britain of the Institute of Brothers of the

Emily Pike and Rosie Taylor look at the implication of the recent case Villiers v Villiers on the issues of 'jurisdiction shopping', divorce law, trust law, inheritance, and powers of attorney. In July, the UK Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Villiers v Villiers 2020 UKSC 3

Benjamin Bestgen examines the available options for punishing companies and questions whether our current laws are appropriate. Corporate crimes make prominent headlines, particularly when they involve large multinationals like Volkswagen, WellsFargo, Pfizer or Odebrecht. But smaller businesses like

The sentencing of the man responsible for the shooting at two mosques in March 2019 in Christchurch, New Zealand, took place over a number of days last week with the High Court judge (Justice Cameron Mander) imposing a sentence of life imprisonment without parole on 27 August 2020. Fergus Whyte and

Peter Alderdice and Daniel Boynton from Shepherd and Wedderburn detail how ethical finance can kickstart the green recovery of Scotland's economy after COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has made one thing abundantly clear: when disaster strikes, major societal change is possible overnight.

Bill Meldrum presents the five key principles that should focus landlords' minds around how they interact with commercial tenants. The UK’s commercial property sector faces its own set of challenges due to the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to our world.

Benjamin Bestgen this week considers the moral obligations of companies. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Lawyers often keep their views on the moral qualities of their clients or clients’ actions to themselves. Morality, many think, is subjective, particularly as differentiating neat

In 1884, a lamb skipped its way into Scottish legal history after it entered unfriendly territory. Winans v Macrae [1885] 22 SLR 692 is a leading case on the issue of trespass by animals and affirmed the requirement for actual material damage for a successful interdict claim.